This Is How Much You Need To Earn To Buy A House In Alberta & It's So Much Less Than Toronto
If you're looking into the prospect of buying your own home in Alberta anytime soon, a new report is exploring the gap between earnings and average home prices — and it's not great news.
On the upside though, Albertans still have it better than people in Toronto!
The report, from the think tank Generation Squeeze, analyzed how much young people aged between 25 and 34 years old in Canada would need to earn — or how much the average cost of a house would need to drop — in order to be able to afford to buy a property, based on the average annual earnings.
According to the report, while Alberta is pretty affordable in comparison to provinces like Ontario and B.C., young people would still need to earn around $67,000 a year in order to be able to buy.
Another option would be for average home prices to fall by $31,000 to make it affordable for a young person to carry a mortgage that covers 80% of the value of the average home.
It currently takes young people in the province around 9 years of full-time work to be able to save a 20% down payment for an average-priced home.
But compared with the GTA, where home prices would need to fall by an eye-watering $750,000 or earnings would need to increase to $172,000, Albertans definitely have it a bit easier.
Calgary
Bad news for young people in Calgary as it's even more expensive to buy a house in the city.
According to the report, Calgarians would need to earn around $79,000 a year to be able to afford a home or average home prices would need to fall by a hefty $83,000 for a young person to be able to secure a mortgage.
It also takes around a decade to save for the 20% down payment.
Edmonton
While home ownership might be slightly more affordable in Edmonton, the average home price would still need to fall by around $17,000 to make it affordable for young people to pay a mortgage covering 80% of the value.
Alternatively, earnings would need to increase to $62,000 a year.
It would still take nine years of full-time employment to earn enough to save for a 20% down payment.
